San Francisco SPCA Interview Questions
& Process

Had a phone interview with HR, then a Zoom interview with the controller. After that, there was an in-person interview with the director and the controller. I had to wait a long time for the director to show up for the interview.

The interview process spanned about a month and included five rounds. It started out seeming professional and organized, but towards the end, it got kind of confusing and inconsistent. The rounds were: 1st, HR screening; 2nd, with the Lead Special Counsel; 3rd, a panel with two people from Strategic Initiatives; 4th, with the CEO, CFO, and a summer intern, which I thought was the last one; and 5th, another interview popped up unexpectedly, set up by that same summer intern. After I was told the process was done and they'd be in touch, I got contacted out of the blue through unofficial channels by a summer intern using a personal student email. She told me the process wasn't finished and she decided to add another interview. This was a bit concerning, especially since she seemed to have a say in the hiring decision even though she wasn't a licensed attorney or full-time yet. The "final" interview mostly just rehashed questions I'd already answered, which felt repetitive and a little unprofessional. I got a generic, AI-written rejection email later, which was a bummer after such a long process, especially since they reached out almost a year after I first applied. I gave feedback and asked for more info but never heard back. So, it went from a promising and respectful process to disorganized and unclear at the end. I still respect what the organization does, but I expected a clearer and more consistent hiring experience from them.

I had a fairly straight forward screening interview and was able to ask all the questions I wanted to. Next was a panel interview. I met with 3 people total over Zoom, in person would have been better, but Covid was still a thing, and had a good discussion about the role and their plans over the next few years. I was again able to ask all my questions and their interview was pretty straight forward.

The hiring process involves three interviews. First, there's a video call with HR to go over the organization and ask about your experience, especially working with diverse people and customers. Next, an in-person panel interview with the hiring manager and someone in the role, where they ask about 13 questions on problem-solving, handling surrenders and euthanasia professionally, and then you get a tour. The last interview is also an in-person panel with the shelter manager and behavior manager, asking about 13 questions focused on animal handling and the specific job duties.